Get ready for the hottest days of the year, as the city officially welcomes sanfu, a meteorological term from the Chinese lunar calendar, which predicts scorching and sweltering weather, reported Shine.
Sanfu (三伏) refers to the hottest period of summer. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, every year sanfu will fall between mid-July and August. This year, it's estimated the sizzling season will last 40 days; starting today and ending August 25.
During last year's sanfu season Shanghai experienced the hottest day since the Xujiahui weather station first began reporting temperatures in 1872. The mercury soared to 40.9 degrees Celsius (105.6 degrees Fahrenheit) prompting the meteorological bureau to trigger a red alert for heat, the highest in the three-tier alarm system.
That being said, don't get unsettled about the days ahead just yet, as we may not experience that brutal heat this year. "The temperature of last year went out of control because Shanghai was right at the center of the subtropical ridge," local Shanghai weather authorities advised Netease. "Currently, the city is on the south of the subtropical ridge. In addition, wind from the southeast will assist in keeping the warmer temperatures at bay."
This theory is supported by the Weather Channel's forecast, which envisages temperatures for the following days to hover around 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit), with scattered thunderstorms for the weekend.
Image via Weather Channel
At the same time, three tropical storms are forming over the northern South China Sea, which may develop into typhoons and affect China in the foreseeable future, said Shine. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether they will hit the city or change course as Maria did last week.
[Top image via Netease]
